Episode 44 VS 7 Point 5: The Ties That Bind
by Voyager Season 7.5
Summary: It's ten years in the future, and Commander Icheb is anxious for his shoreleave to begin. The one person he wants to see is waiting at Deep Space 9. Oh, yes, you will learn a little of what has been happening in the DQ too.
1. Chapter 1

**The Ties That Bind**

**by jamelia**

The Wormhole bloomed into being. Petals of light swirled open, much like the flowers his mother always grew in her garden in San Francisco. Morning Glories, that was what they were called. Some were white and some "as blue as your brother's eyes," Mom always said. That was an exaggeration, but his brother's eyes, unlike his own, were very blue. The Wormhole flowering before his eyes glistened with all the colors of the visible spectrum, glowing against a star-spattered black backdrop.

As he watched, a miniscule ship disgorged itself from out of the throat of the illusory flower, sailing into normal space. Seconds later, the petals of energy collapsed in upon themselves, swallowing up what the Bajorans knew as the Celestial Temple into apparent nothingness. It was still there, of course, hidden, ageless, and mysterious, despite all that had been learned about the aliens who dwelt there. Amongst them was the Emissary, who at one time commanded this station as Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Lieutenant Commander Icheb Paris leaned against a handrail on the upper level of Deep Space Nine, contemplating his existence. He smiled as he recalled the phrase. Seven of Nine, his first "foster mother," had used the term frequently. Born Annika Hansen, a name she had reassumed after moving permanently to New Pojzan with her spouse Axum, Seven had spent much time when she first arrived on _Voyager_ while regenerating in her Borg cubicle "contemplating her existence." Eventually, the lessons she learned through this mental exercise helped her find her way back to becoming an individual_._ Icheb had never been connected with the Borg as completely as Seven had been, yet he found that the contemplation of one's existence was a worthwhile exercise nonetheless.

Eventually, Seven had become more his big sister than his mother. Before he had been formally adopted by Admiral and Mrs. Paris, Captain Kathryn Janeway mothered Icheb the way she did all of her crew on _Voyager_, especially Seven. Kathryn Janeway and her husband Chakotay now had a son of their own, about twelve now, Icheb recalled. Unsurprisingly, their son was an extremely intelligent youth, pleasant, but with a quirky sense of humor. Eddie, as he was known to his friends, had not yet begun his youthful rebellion to any major degree, but Icheb thought it likely it would come fairly soon. A beloved only son would need to pass through such a stage to become his own man. His parents were too wise not to understand this and deal with it, hopefully well, when the time came.

On his last mission to the Delta Quadrant, Icheb had finally been able to visit with the family on New Earth in person, instead of only through Faster Than Light video transmissions. His former captain, who currently was in her first term as the President of the United States of New Earth, had been just as warmly welcoming to Icheb as she had been on the days she had rescued him from the Borg. Former Commander Chakotay was now white-haired, but he was as energetic and as involved as ever with New Earth University, which he had helped found. Icheb thought he was more relaxed and open than he had been when Icheb first knew him. His wife teased Chakotay, saying it was because he was "captain of his own ship now" as president of the university. Perhaps that accounted for his demeanor. It might simply be that Chakotay, who told Icheb he used to be the Angry Warrior, had at last learned to feel comfortable in his own skin.

Icheb sighed. He wondered if he would ever achieve anything close to self-acceptance. It was certainly not the fault of his parents if he did not. Admiral and Mrs. Owen Paris had lavished much love and praise on him ever since they had adopted him. When he arrived from the Delta Quadrant, the only Brunali known to live in the Alpha Quadrant to this day, Icheb met his mom Alicia for the very first time on this station. He smiled at the memory. Icheb felt she loved him as much as she loved her natural son Tom Paris and two daughters from the very first. Now Icheb's siblings' families had grown, giving Alicia and Owen Paris seven grandchildren. He knew his mom would welcome more, if Icheb was ever in a position to provide her with any.

That was why he'd decided to come to Deep Space Nine. He needed to know if such a blessing might be part of his future.

He noticed the ship he'd been watching, so tiny in appearance when it first exited the Wormhole, had grown in size. It was a Federation ship of the line, one of the largest. The _U.S.S. Federation Accord_ was Paramount Class, like the new flagship, the _Enterprise NCC-1701F_. The ship would dock in less than thirty minutes, if Icheb had calculated the distances and speed correctly. He almost always did.

Time to walk down to the lower levels to await the docking of the _Federation Accord_. It might be a while before he could meet with the person he hoped to see. He could not be sure Shore Leave would be granted to her immediately. Perhaps ordering a snack at the Klingon restaurant, the _Qapla'_,would be a better use of his time than loitering on the Promenade, hanging around for the girl he'd been waiting for, it seemed, for most of his life.

* * *

Lieutenant Naomi Wildman was annoyed. She was forced to remain on board the _FedAccord_ (as all of her shipmates called it) instead of going off with the first group of officers scheduled for Shore Leave, as she had expected.

Two of her subordinates failed to complete their weekly Scientific Research Reports on time. Ensign Bextan had "sort of" an excuse. He'd landed in Sickbay because he failed to complete a thorough tricorder reading before performing a "taste test" on flower buds collected from Severis V. From the initial scan, he thought they were "just like Talaxian pepper pods." They were almost like them, except they were laced with just enough caparacin, masked by the capsaicin, to make the Talaxian thoroughly sick from eating them raw. Cooking would have destroyed the toxic substance, but Bextan, a little like her beloved Uncle Neelix, sometimes leaped before he looked. She'd given him an extra day to finish his report, since she insisted he include a well-researched digest documenting the reasons why one never ever performed a "taste test" on an unknown ingredient until completing a detailed analysis, down to the molecular level, of which species might find the substance indigestible or dangerous to consume.

This report, because of the assigned addendum, would not have been held against her, and she could have left with the others. Ensign Crol Th'fevran, however, had no such excuse. The Andorian had become so involved in a Parisses Squares match, he had forgotten he hadn't turned in his report. It finally appeared on Naomi's terminal an hour after it was due, exactly thirty minutes after the first group of officers left the ship for leave.

Naomi contacted Icheb as soon as she realized she wouldn't be able to meet him for at least another twelve hours. She suggested he might want to visit her on the _FedAccord_, since she was technically off-duty, if not free to "go ashore." Icheb had declined her invitation. He said he would go to his lodgings to take a nap. They could meet at Quark's at 1945 hours.

As her thoughts turned to Icheb, Naomi's mood mellowed. She hadn't seen her old friend for almost four years. Icheb had looked so handsome standing up as Best Man for Griff Harley at his wedding to Valentina Novotnova. Icheb had danced several slow dances with Naomi. They'd gotten on so well together that night, she thought maybe, this time, what they'd once felt for one another would be rekindled.

It was not to be. Two days later, Icheb was summoned to his father's office at the Admiralty and presented with his promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Icheb Paris was on the fast track now, and his new assignment proved it. He was attached to Captain Geordi La Forge's deep space mission, to an area of the Delta Quadrant that was still virtually unexplored because it had been held by the Borg. Icheb, as one who had once had ties to the Collective, was considered an ideal choice as Astrometrics Chief and Second Officer on this mission.

Naomi had been terrified for his safety the entire time Icheb was gone, even though the Fluidians placed more than a dozen of their people on board the task force's flagship, the _U.S.S. Concordia, _in what they called their Ocampa "garb." The Fluidian's favored way of appearing to those living in Non-Fluidic Space was the look they'd assumed on the day the Delta Quadrant Confederation was formed. Their bodies looked like those of the Ocampa, but with purplish skin, to let others identify the species to which they truly belonged.

Having completed several exploratory missions in the region, the Fluidians were confident the Borg no longer presented a major threat. Unfortunately, they'd failed to detect several pockets of Borg in the sector who were trying to reestablish their dominion over the region. More than half a dozen serious battles took place before it was secured for the United Federation (Alpha, Beta, and Delta Quadrant branches).

Icheb had served with distinction, receiving several commendations for bravery. Thankfully, unlike many given out after that mission, they had not been posthumous. Captain La Forge was offered the post of admiral upon his return. Like his mentor Jean-Luc Picard, he declined the honor, preferring to remain a captain for the immediate future.

Now Icheb was back in the Alpha Quadrant, as was Naomi, a mature, just-turned-twenty-one-year-old woman, well-established in her own Starfleet career. She had much to look forward to in her profession, but she longed to resume her personal life. Her youngest sister Carolynna had still been a toddler when Naomi left for her mission to the Gamma Quadrant on the _FedAccord _eighteen months ago. Naomi wanted to get to know her, as well as reestablish her friendship with Ruthannika, who had been accepted for entrance to Starfleet Academy later this year. And, of course, speaking with her parents via an FTL transmission could not take the place of being in their presence, to speak with them in person, to hug or be hugged by them.

And there was one more thing missing from her personal life. She wanted a husband, badly, and Naomi hoped he was waiting for her on Deep Space Nine at this very moment, taking a nap.

She wished she could be with him now.

* * *

At promptly 1940 hours, Lieutenant Wildman approached the entrance to Quark's establishment on the Promenade. Since she was no wet-behind-the-ears Academy graduate, she laughingly waved away the proprietor at his saucer-eyed approach. The subject of her search was sitting at the bar, next to Morn (who for all intents and purposes lived in Quark's). As Icheb stood up and gave her a warm, enthusiastic hug, she heard Quark's sad sigh of resignation as he muttered, "Why do they always go for the tall, dark, and handsome Starfleet types? What do they have that I don't have?"

Naomi turned back and answered, "History, Mr. Quark. Sorry, but I've known this guy for years. It's time to catch up."

* * *

They had drinks at Quark's but went to dinner at Jake's, the restaurant owned by Jake Sisko. He wasn't in residence, but Jake's grandfather in New Orleans, on Earth, had trained the chef . The food was Cajun, as authentic as a dinner at the original Sisko's would have been. Icheb had lots of questions about the _FedAccord's_ mission, since the Gamma Quadrant was where he'd spent the least amount of time. Naomi was happy to answer them. Their mission had been the one preferred by Starfleet officers: the exploration of a relatively unexplored region. Thanks to transwarp drive, they were able to travel in a straight line, far deeper into the quadrant than any other mission to date.

When she asked similar questions of Icheb, he was a little more circumspect. "There's a lot that's still classified, so I can't say much. We've established that the Borg are still fragmented. They've never been able to reestablish their centralized system under one Queen."

"Is that because of your . . . weapon?"

"It appears so, although there are other factors operating. The Fluidians have been very active in the area in which we were traveling, so - I think it's okay to tell you this - the Borg groups that do survive are separated from each other by Borg-free corridors. Like the ones _Voyager_ found around the time Annika first came on board the ship, when you were still a baby. The Fluidians still do not trust the Borg. Since Fluidian technology is biologically-based, the whole idea of a mechanized, singular organism seeking 'perfection' is anathema to them. The Fluidians want us to know they trust us, with all of our multiple species' imperfections. They say it's 'natural' for biological species to be like that, now they've had a real chance to study different species in our space. That whole 'perfection' thing of the Borg is just unattainable, they claim. Anyone who insists it is possible is either insane or can't be trusted. Exploring that part of the Delta Quadrant was really important for all of us, but I think the real purpose of our mission was to cement the Fluidian-Federation Alliance. "

"There have been some doubters in the Admiralty, so I've heard."

"I heard that too, but since our mission, the doubters are in the minority. I'm glad. Every one of the Fluidians I met is a great person. Three Fluidians on our ship were killed in one Borg attack, you know. They received their share of posthumous commendations for valor, too."

Naomi nodded her head and tried to smile at him, but the enormity of all of those losses finally got to her. Tears filled her eyes. She choked out, "Icheb, I was afraid for you!" Naomi thought she had whispered it, but several of the other diners looked in their direction.

Icheb grabbed her hand and squeezed it to comfort and quiet her. "I'm here now, Naomi. I came through okay. Not even a scratch," he said, revealing his shy smile.

"I'm so glad. I've missed you so much, Icheb."

He looked into her eyes, her expression open and unguarded. Icheb saw something there he had not seen for many years. He was almost afraid to hope it meant what he wanted so desperately for it to mean. He answered, "I've missed you, too, Naomi."


	2. Chapter 2

After dinner they wandered back to Quark's, but instead of lingering in the bar and gambling area, they strolled into Vic's. Since the holographic crooner was between sets, he came to greet them as they walked through his door.

"I know I've seen the two of you before, but it's been a real long time. Going up the ladder in Starfleet, I see, Lieutenant Commander and Lieutenant. Let me see, you, my lovely lady, are Lieutenant Wildman, unless I miss my guess. Ah, I thought so. And I think you are Commander Paris? How's your brother and his gorgeous wife doing? And that looker of a little girl they had? I'll bet she's already breaking some hearts."

"How can anyone stay down in the dumps at Vic's?" asked Naomi, as Icheb swept her onto the dance floor for a very old-fashioned waltz.

"They're fools if they do," Icheb replied softly into her ear, as he guided her slowly around the dance floor. His voice was warm and comforting. He smelled heavenly, of exotic sweet woods and herbs. Naomi sighed contentedly as they swayed together, happy to be in Icheb's arms once again. It had been four years since Griff's wedding, but the time they had been apart melted away. He held her just the way she loved to be held, not too tightly, but firmly, and with power. Since the last time she'd seen him, Icheb's shoulders had filled out more. She guessed he'd been lifting weights. He was now quite muscular, similar in body type to his birth father Leucon, from the holoimages of Icheb's natural father she'd reviewed in the Starfleet database.

Naomi had not met Icheb's natural parents when they came aboard _Voyager_ to claim their son. She'd never spent any time on the Brunali planet when Seven and Captain Janeway delivered Icheb to them, either. At the time, Naomi had yet to develop feelings for Icheb, but she still remembered how sad everyone on _Voyager_ was when he left. Icheb did not speak often of his Brunali parents after _Voyager_ rescued him from the Borg's clutches a second time, after his parents sent him to be assimilated again. Icheb, the biological weapon who was supposed to destroy the Borg, finally did it, but not by becoming a drone himself.

Naomi had never thought very much about what the Brunali were like (other than horrible parents who must hate their children, if Icheb's were any example). Now, she wondered. If what she hoped for did happen between the two of them, what sort of father would Icheb be if they had children? Icheb's brother Tom was a great father to Miral and her younger brother Johnny, but if some of the stories Naomi had heard about his behavior towards Tom were true, Admiral Paris had been somewhat wanting in that department at times. Naomi knew Tom and Icheb's mother well, since she had "unofficially adopted" Naomi during her Starfleet Academy years, while her own parents were posted in the Gamma Quadrant. Alicia Paris was the only one of Icheb's parents, in Naomi's opinion, who had shown him unconditional love.

These thoughts were disturbing, but Naomi reminded herself they were certainly premature. Since becoming adults, they'd never really been more than good friends to each other. Why should she be thinking about what kind of parent Icheb would make when she didn't know if he would ever want to marry her? That thought made Naomi smile, prompting Icheb to say, "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, it's nothing important," she replied guiltily, thinking it was a good thing the Brunali were not known to be a telepathic race. "I'm enjoying being with you. It's been way too long."

"It has been too long," he murmured, as he lay his chin against her cheek again.

When the music ended, the young couple went to an out-of-the-way table in a dark corner of the club. Icheb ordered a picture of real wine Sangria. The citrus soaked in the wine was almost a dessert. Since it wasn't synthehol, it made her a little giddy. As they sipped on their drinks, Naomi and Icheb reminisced about events that happened during their last days on _Voyager_. The Olympics. Crash landing on New Hope, and camping out under the stars. Miral's birth on the _Delta Flyer_ during a mission.

"Coming here, to Deep Space Nine, and having to wait until Starfleet was ready for us to come back to Earth," Naomi said. The giddiness abruptly fled, because that wasn't a totally happy time, she suddenly remembered.

"Yes, I met my mom here in person for the first time," Icheb said. And then he swallowed. "But do you remember the memorial service for everyone who died on _Voyager, Equinox, _and the Maquis ship?"

"And on the way to Earth we stopped on that planet, where Lieutenant Ayala's first wife died." Naomi added, with a catch in her throat.

Icheb put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "He's happy now in the Delta Quadrant, with Narel and all their children. I saw them when we stopped at New Earth."

"Luis is in the Delta Quadrant Confederation Security Force, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's followed in his dad's footsteps. It was great to see them all. Captain Janeway, Chakotay, and Eddie, too. He looks so much like his father. Just no tattoo."

"Yet. I'll bet he'll have one someday."

"He probably will," Icheb smiled at her. When she turned her head to look into his eyes, their lips were barely an inch apart. She couldn't help herself. She gave him a very gentle kiss.

Naomi hadn't anticipated the power in that kiss. His other arm came around her. He wrapped her up in an embrace that almost felt like one of desperation. Their kiss deepened, and she responded to him with a passion she had never felt with anyone before. No other lover had ever made her as breathless as this, simply from a kiss.

The band was playing one of those old songs Vic liked to sing. As they broke apart from the kiss, but not from their embrace, she recognized it: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." She gazed deep into Icheb's eyes, windows into his soul, while Vic sang about moon and stars and dark and empty skies. That song was hundreds of years old, but wasn't it absolutely perfect, considering they'd met on a starship sailing through space?

The next verse would be about the first time the lovers kissed, Naomi recalled. She'd kissed Icheb before, years ago. Most had been relatively gentle, chaste pecks on the cheek and lips. She really had been a child then, even though she hadn't been willing to accept that. This had been the first time she could say she had "really" kissed Icheb. The intensity was as frightening as it was exhilarating. Naomi had never thought Icheb's feelings for her were as deep as hers for him. As she gazed into Icheb's eyes, she saw her own want and need reflected back to her. She need not have doubted.

They'd met among the stars and nebula of the Delta Quadrant. Both had been children: he, a boy scarred by parental abandonment and the abuse of biomechanical beings who'd robbed him of his innocence; she, precocious, but very much a child, who only thought she was all grown up because her half-Ktarian body had grown at an accelerated rate. They had been too young to really know what love and life were about. Yet that "crush" everyone said they'd felt, the one they would "grow out of eventually," well, at best, that was wishful thinking by her parents.

Those outside their pairing saw it as the childish attraction of a boy and a girl who were the only ones of their age group in the enclosed world of a starship. It had only been "puppy love," as the lyrics went to another song Vic sang. Naomi never thought her feelings for Icheb were as inconsequential as her parents told her they were. She now believed "puppy love" sometimes could be real love.

From Naomi's studies of the Ktarian life-bond, she knew that once it was fixed, the bond truly was for life. She may have been little more than a child at the time, but Naomi _had_ bonded to this man who now held her in his arms. And, from the look of adoration reflecting out of his eyes, she had no doubt at all that the bond between them went both ways. She remembered his jealousy when she dated his classmate Griff Harley, and her own when he had been seeing Mialla, at the Academy. Their crush had never gone away. Over the years it had evolved. No one else could replace Icheb Paris in Naomi's heart. It was a wondrous, momentous realization.

She became aware of applause from all those around her, and seconds later, Vic approached their table, smiling broadly at them. He bent over them and whispered gently, so only they could hear, "Kids, you know what? I think you two really need to get a room."

* * *

At first, when she awoke, she was confused. She was not in her quarters on the _FedAccord._ She wasn't in the typical sort of lodgings she took whenever she was on Shore Leave. Instead, the ceiling above her was lofty. A soft light bloomed across its surface, emanating from the floor to ceiling windows that formed one wall.

Her mind cleared, and she remembered. Naomi Wildman was lying stark naked in a bed in a holosuite at Quark's. The last verse of that song Vic had been singing still resounded in her head. She had felt Icheb's heart beat close to hers. She had thought her joy would fill the entire Delta Quadrant, let alone the Earth!

It had finally happened. It had been rapturous, everything she had hoped it would be. She had never felt anything even close to this way with anyone else. Naomi's whole being throbbed with the memory of all they had done, not to, but for, each other. The entire night had been a gift, or even more, like they had unwrapped one wonderful present after another for each other. Naomi stretched her body languorously and rolled over onto her side.

The bed next to her was empty. After a second of panic, she saw him, sitting on a sofa at the other side of the room, next to the windows.

Icheb wore not a stitch more clothing than she did, although she could see that in a few places, a silvery implant was embedded in his skin, matching the one residing on the side of his nose near his left eye. Until this night she had been totally unaware of the existence of several of them. Naomi smiled indulgently. Reminders of Icheb's brief life as a Borg drone would live on as a part of him for the rest of his life, but each had had their own part to play in what they had experienced. Not all Borg implants were antithetical to explorations of individuality - or sensation.

Naomi started to look for something to put on, but then she remembered. Those weren't real windows; they were holodeck projections. No one could look in upon them. Her state of undress would be invisible to anyone but Icheb. After what they had just been to one another, she really couldn't imagine he'd mind. As she rose from the bed, the rustling sound drew his attention towards her. His smile was gentle and, she was rather certain, very satisfied.

"You can sleep in longer if you want to. It's not five yet. You don't have to get back until 0700, right?"

"No, but I don't want to waste my Shore Leave time, either," she said, sauntering over to the sofa. He opened his arms for her. She sat in his lap, leaning her head against his shoulder, and sighed contentedly.

"What are you watching out of this artificial window?"

"It's programmed to display views of scenic areas on Bajor and Earth. There were other planets I could choose from, but these fit my mood this morning."

"You want to tour Bajor on this trip, I take it?"

"Not especially. But while we're here in the system. I thought I'd like to see a little of it." His smile was a little suggestive, reminding Naomi of his brother Tom's glances towards his wife B'Elanna - when they didn't realize Naomi was watching them.

They cuddled for a while, content to watch the programmed scenery change very three minutes. Every scene was portrayed as it would look at dawn, but as each new view came up, the morning light level increased. Eventually Naomi felt it was getting to be a little too much. She raised her head and looked at Icheb, to ask if they could adjust the brightness. When she saw his face, she could not speak. The expression on his face was not what she had expected to see on this morning. He looked sad, almost stricken.

"Icheb, are you all right? You don't have any regrets about our loving each other last night, do you?" Naomi felt a chill come over her. She could not believe Icheb would let her down right after getting her into bed, but stranger things had happened. She'd heard enough stories from her ship mates to know such things occurred.


	3. Chapter 3

He met her eyes, smiling wistfully. "Of course not. This has been a dream come true for me. I want it to go on forever. I just . . . I saw one scene of Bajor that reminded me of a view on the Brunali world. I couldn't help but think of my parents for a moment."

"Your birth parents?"

"Yes." He looked over her head, looking far into the distance, to a scene she knew was visible only in his mind. "I talked to him, you know. My Brunali father. When we were in the Delta Quadrant. On the way home."

"Oh, Icheb! It must have been painful."

"At first it was. He'd heard from someone that a Federation fleet was coming from Borg territory. He'd contacted the _Gibraltar_ first and asked them whether there was anything to fear from the Borg coming through the transwarp conduit near his planet. After the officer on the _Gibraltar_ told him most of that particular conduit had collapsed, and it was no longer a threat to anyone, Leucon asked if they had any word about me. He knew about _Voyager's_ taking me away. They told him I was with the task force. He asked if he could speak with me. The _Gibraltar's_ Ops Officer patched his comm link to the _Concordia_."

"What did he say to you? What _COULD_ he say to you after all this time?"

"The first thing he said was he was sorry."

"Of course. Easy for him to say now."

"After talking with him for a while, I decided he was sincere." Icheb kissed her on the forehead, on either side of her row of vestigial horns. Sighing, he added, "I wanted to talk to the Brunali anyway when I realized our route would take us near their planet. I had questions. There are things _Voyager_ never asked when my parents claimed me. There didn't seem to be any point. Captain Janeway thought I was staying with them."

Naomi was about to ask him what he wanted to know, but something told her that silence, at this juncture, would be best. She moved her head so she could look fully into his face and eyes. As she expected, he continued softly, "I wanted to know about love and family life. And I asked him about me. Why was I born? Was it only to be a weapon against the Borg? "

She groaned, "Oh, Icheb, why? It's over; they let you go!"

"Naomi, I knew, when I got back, that I would seek you out. I had to know about . . . what they did, was it typical? Or was this some sort of special case? I never want to hurt you, and I had to know if sometime, somehow, something like this might come up to blight what we have."

She put her fingers to his lips. "Never. I know you would never do anything like that. For one thing, your Mom Paris would kill you first!"

He chuckled sadly then. "Oh, yeah, she would. She would never let her grandkids be harmed in any way, not if she could help it. No, you won't have to worry, Naomi. It isn't the normal thing for Brunali families to do anything like this. They love their kids, for the most part, just as much as any parents do. It was my mother who didn't want any children. Any more children. You see, I had an older sister. The Borg killed her in one of their raids, and Yifay, my Brunali mother, said she could never go through that pain again."

"So she gave birth to you? Icheb, that makes no sense."

"Leucon said it did to her, because I was never really 'her' child. To her, I was a vessel for a weapon, and she was simply the 'builder.' I was constructed from the two of them biologically, but with added DNA, that virus engineered into my genes, just to destroy the Borg. She birthed me, but Leucon . . . he didn't say so in so many words, but I think he's the one who raised me. I don't have many memories of my childhood. I guess they tampered with them, hoping the Borg wouldn't find out where I came from after I was assimilated, in case it didn't work. The few things I do recall are about Leucon and me. I still have no old memories of being with her. Only that last time, before they sent me to the Borg again . . ."

He stopped, as if he needed to catch his breath. He kissed Naomi again on the forehead before continuing in a monotone voice,"Leucon said he begged Yifay not to send me to the Borg the second time. When I came back, he wanted me to stay. It was Yifay's decision. She insisted. The only reason she had been part of creating me was to destroy them. She said he had to go through with it. He helped her get me into the second space ship, but he hated himself for helping her. He told me he will regret doing it, and losing me, for the rest of his life. I believe him. He was happy to hear I escaped again, Naomi. He said he was glad I had a family now who gave me what I deserved, because he had failed me when I needed him most."

Icheb's voice had trailed off into a whisper by the end. Naomi sat up and wrapped her arms around him, kissing away a couple of stray tears that escaped from beneath his eyelids. Her heart ached in sympathy. How could they have done this? Why did this Leucon tell Icheb all of this? Maybe Icheb did ask, but did he have to answer him so crudely?

Then, to be fair, she had to admit it had never made sense to her how those people could do this to Icheb, certainly not for a second time. If it had bothered her, how must Icheb have felt? She held him in her arms. Despite the terrible pain, she was glad he had opened up to her in this way, acknowledging this profound loss. Leucon had given Icheb the unvarnished truth, one apparently as painful to the father as it was to his son. Icheb had been brought to life for only one purpose: to bring death to the Borg. Would lying be kinder, when only the truth really made sense? No, she realized, it wouldn't.

Naomi wiped away her own tears from her face. Icheb was smiling at her, even though his eyes were still a little blurry. "I must look terrible," Naomi said.

"You've never looked more beautiful to me. Naomi, sharing pain and bad times is what bond mates do, just as much as sharing joy, good luck, and wonderful times."

"Bond mates. Is that what we are?"

"Yes, Naomi. We are bond mates. We can do a big marriage ceremony for our moms, on Ktaria or on Earth, wherever you want. But our marriage has already started. It began years ago, when we first loved each other. Naomi, from what your dad told me once, Ktarians don't so much choose their life bond mate as they recognize him or her. And I found out, from talking with Leucon, that that's the way it is with the Brunali, too."

"Are you saying we never had 'crushes' on each other at all? That we were really kind of married, even when we were so young?"

"Well, in a way, yeah, I guess I am saying that. From the Brunali point of view we were. It seems to be like the Vulcan tradition. Many Vulcans are bonded to each other by their parents when they're very young. They don't live together until their first _pon farr_ arrives, when they are sexually mature. T'Pel was nice enough to tell me about it when I asked her, after the _Concordia_ returned to the Alpha Quadrant. The Vulcans on my ship didn't want to discuss it, and Tuvok wouldn't, either, when I went to see him. I don't know if Vulcan women are more open about it, or if T'Pel simply realized how important it was for me to understand it, after what I'd learned about the Brunali. It's a little different, because there's no telepathy involved. It just happens on its own, somehow, like it did with the two of us. Even when I told you we were too young to bond forever and that we should go our own way, Naomi, I knew I truly loved you. You were too young for a life commitment then, and it was my place to protect you from yourself - even though it just about killed me to do it."

"Icheb, I think, young as I was, I really did make a commitment - or my heart did for me. I have never been able to have a successful relationship with anyone else. I tried to. I pretended to, even, but it just never felt right. Tonight was the first time . . ." She suddenly sat up as erect as she could while still balancing on his lap. "Does this mean, with all those boyfriends and girlfriends we've both had, we've been adulterers for all of these years?"

Icheb laughed. "Well, it wasn't deliberate! We didn't know how this bond thing works, Naomi. If you can forgive me, I can certainly forgive you." More seriously he went on, stroking her cheek gently with his forefinger. "I think we had to try to be with others, to know in our own minds how badly we needed each other. And maybe even more, to ease the minds of your parents and mine - I'm talking about my Mom and Dad Paris now - that this truly is our choice. Even if, in a way, our choice was already made so many years ago."

"So this is why your Brunali father Leucon went along with what his wife wanted? I'm sorry, Icheb, but I'll never be able to call her your mother after this."

"Yes, I guess it is why," he sighed. "I feel sorry for them both, but mostly for him. They're still bonded, he told me. He said he still really loves her, but he doesn't know if she's capable of love anymore. Something died within her when they lost my older sister. They don't live together now. Haven't for years, ever since he loaded me onto that space ship to be taken by the Borg for the second time. He says he still feels the tie, but they can't talk about important things. His trust in her is gone, and he doesn't think it ever will come back. It's very sad. He's lonely. There will never be anyone else for him. I can understand how he feels. I felt that way for the past several years, when I thought I had lost you."

They embraced again, comforting each other. Truthfully, both had feared losing the other many times over the years. Icheb kissed her on the cheek and the shoulder, before his hands began to move over her body in ways that were not so much comforting as, frankly, erotic.

Naomi looked out the window. The vista was of a clear mountain range bathed in the light of full day. "We can't, Icheb. It's getting late, and I have to get back to the _FedAccord_. I wonder - do you have an itinerary? I mean, were you planning to do any sightseeing on Bajor this trip? Or are you waiting to be picked up here for some sort of assignment?"

"No, the only thing on my agenda was to meet up with you. I never thought about afterwards. I didn't even want to think about what I'd do if you didn't want me. I have two more weeks of leave due before I have to report back to San Francisco to get my next assignment. Why?"

"We're headed back to Earth. Maybe we can ask Captain Lavelle if you could hitch a ride there with us. We've got some guest suites. There might even be room in my quarters. On my couch, maybe. Or other places. As long as you're willing to slum it. I _am_ only a lieutenant, you know. My quarters are nothing like a highly decorated lieutenant commander's."

"Let me think," Icheb said, pretending to disguise his blossoming grin by rubbing his chin with his hand. "I think I can save the scenic wonders of Bajor for my next trip. Slumming it in a lieutenant's quarters sounds like a very nice way to spend my leave time."

Naomi laughed out loud. "Let's pack up and get over there. I'll bet Jenny and Sam will have you over for a captain's dinner, to pump you about the Borg if nothing else."

Icheb stared at her and said, the shock evident in his voice, "You mean Jenny Delaney? She's back with Sam again?"

"She's our first officer. Yep, they're back together again, for the third time. Or is it the fourth? I can't keep track. They seem to really love each other, but no one is willing to bet how they'll finally end up. Their careers keep getting in the way of true love."

"We'll have to be aware of that."

"Icheb, my parents have worked it out. So have Tom and B'Elanna. We will, too."

He kissed her gently, almost like he did when they were young, and asked, "So, when does your next duty shift begin?"

"I'm on Beta shift today, at 1600 hours."

His smile spread widely across his face, and Naomi couldn't help thinking about how much he resembled his brother Tom smiling at his B'Elanna - never mind their differing genetics. "Plenty of time for recreation beforehand, then?"

"Yes, Commander. Plenty of time," she answered playfully.

"Well we don't want to keep your captain waiting."

She leaned back into his arms. They weren't in _that_ much of a hurry. They could take the time to share another kiss, one filled with the promise of a lifetime of laughter and hope. Undoubtedly there would also be some tears along the way, but as long as they were together, there would also be love.

### END ###


End file.
